Maps at Christmas

“What are you doing, Vince?”  I asked.  Vince seemed to be drawing a map, which wasn’t unusual, but above it, he had written something that looked suspiciously like a letter.

“I’m writing a letter to the Virginia Department of Transportation,” Vince told me.

“Really?”  I asked him.  “How do you know their address?”

“It’s right here,” he said, indicating the back of a map of Virginia lying on the table beside him. 

“They put the address for people to send suggestions to them.  I’m writing them a letter suggesting that they send me a map of Campbell County.

“I guess that makes sense,” I said, hoping that Vince’s hopes weren’t dashed when he didn’t get an answer from the folks at VDOT.

In the following days, Vince waited anxiously for the mail, hoping for an answer to his suggestion.  Each day, his hopes went down just a little bit more until one day, about ten days after he sent his letter off to Richmond, a fat envelope arrived.

“Dear Vincent Waldron (not John or Elaine),” the accompanying letter read.  “Thank you for the lovely letter and the drawing.  I have included some maps and goodies that can help you learn more and more about Virginia!”

There in the envelope were a couple of maps of Campbell County, but there were other maps of Virginia, a multi color highlighter, and some antiseptic hand spray.  Vince was thrilled beyond words.

I was thrilled too.  I don’t know what nice woman opened Vince’s letter and sensed a boy with an interest in maps, but she couldn’t have known how pleased she would make him through those maps and odds and ends.  It truly made his day.

Christmas time is a time when we give things to other people.  We plan out in advance the stuff we are going to give and when all else fails, we fall back on the tried and true gift cards.

But many times, the things that make the biggest difference are the little thoughtful things we do for others -- a kind word, or a complement.  It only takes a little thought and effort and it lifts someone else's spirits, like maps in the mail to a ten year old budding cartographer.

Snow and Children

"I hope we get a bunch of snow!"  Anna said.

"I think there's only supposed to be three to six inches," I said, knowing that the way meteorology works that that could mean anything from a dusting of snow to a foot of the icy crystals.

A couple of days later, the snow began to fall.  It came down in thick showers with only occasional breaks.  All Sunday it came down and by the time it stopped, there was a full 14 inches on the ground.

Throughout the day, I worked to keep our driveway clear.  Three different times I went out to start my riding mower and push piles of the cold white stuff to the edges of our drive.

I like snow, but it seems as though fourteen inches is a bit much.

The next day our children went out sledding.  All of them from Victoria to Anna had an awesome time as they careened down our little sledding hill.

I know from experience that adults and children have very different reaction to snow.  For children it means snowmen (and women), sledding, and time off of school.  For adults it means anxiety filled drives, back breaking shoveling, and just generally feeling cold.

I suppose that both are right, it is just a matter of perspective.

Reading the Bible I find that Jesus said that we need to become as little children in order to enter the kingdom of heaven.  I know that this means different things to different people.  It can mean growing in simple faith and honesty.  It can mean forgiving as children do and not holding grudges.  I think one of the things that stands out to me is having a childlike ability to see the beauty in the world around us.

I'm afraid that we adults tend to focus too much on inconvenience and messed up schedule and as a results can not see the loveliness of God's creation.  We need to stop, forget about our next appointment for just a moment and soak in the wonder of the sparkling snow.

There is beauty every day.  Even on days when the only thing we can do is try to build a snowman.